Is the Risk Real With the New gTLD Program?

It’s late in the new gTLD day and the program looks to be inching ever closer to the finish line. Yet last minute hiccups seem to be a recurring theme for this ambitious project to expand the Internet namespace far beyond the 300 odd active TLDs in existence today (counting generics and country codes). A …

NEPAD presentation of .africa history at ICANN Durban, seen as massive misrepresentation

“African government delegates were finally complaining they were coerced into ‘AU position’ and stating that they have no reason to object to DCA or a competitive bid for Africa”. DotConnectAfrica has emerged as the first firm to show interest of the project dotAfrica (.africa). . This was explicitly reported to the delegates attending the AfriSIG …

Who Are the True Multi-Stakeholders in ICANN?

During ICANN Durban, I attended the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) 10 year anniversary celebrations. ICANN Chairman, Dr Steve Crocker, was on hand to congratulate the ccNSO on their 10 years and revered them as the “true multi-stakeholders in ICANN”. Post Durban, I was reviewing notes and I came across a similar statement made …

Uniforum’s Pass huge Debacle – Who is to save African Union from itself?

An African internet showdown that has refused to end is looking once again. According to DotConnectAfrica, the Company bidding for .africa alongside the embattled Uniforum ZACR, DotConnectAfrica whose application was flagged as “incomplete” due to the fact that it did not go to the Geographic Review Panel, despite passing highly all the other panels has …